A Visual Analysis of a World War II Poster.

"Keep this Horror from Your Home," an American propaganda poster produced during World War II, uses many visual and textual elements to encourage Americans to buy war bonds by portraying the Japanese as rapists. The author of the piece is unknown, but it is obvious that the creator of the poster carefully chooses the color, patterns, scale, text, and representation of the piece to send a very strong social and political message. There is little …

…it exploits the stereotypical view of the Japanese soldier and paints a cloud of sin to rouse the spirits of Americans. Racial inferiority, hate crimes, and discrimination are the end results of such propaganda posters. Does the artist carry out his intended goal of selling war bonds and stirring up emotions of anger and fear in Americans? Without a doubt... But whether such use of propaganda is ethical and justified is an entirely separate question.